I haven’t had that many who have cancelled at the very last minute. I got a call late at night last summer and the woman was sobbing. They were due here the next day. Her daughter-in-law, her grandchild, and the DIL’s mother had drowned in a flash flood when the water swept the car off the road. It was true as I looked it up the next day. It’s was horrific. I’ve had people with Covid (they rebooked later and thanked me).
I would rather refund and trust people than to believe they are trying to scam me. Part of hosting, or any business, is thinking about the guest. Many hosts don’t understand customer service and that’s why they fail. It happens a lot in my community.
Most of my guests who cancel, cancel before the time frame. I’m very fortunate that others book when a guest cancels and my calendar is freed up.
Airbnb does give partial refunds anyway. It’s just not a big deal to me.